Secession and War

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Transcript of Secession and War

Secession and War 16.3By: Tia Nicholson and Nolyn StephensThe Election of 1860During the Presidential Election of 1860, no one knew if the Union would continue to exist.Slavery split the Democratic party. The Democrats in the North supported popular sovereignty, and they voted for Stephen Douglas. The Democrats in the South wanted to keep slavery, and they voted for John Breckinridge.The Republicans had nominated Abraham Lincoln. Since the Democrat's votes were divided, Lincoln won the election.Lincoln did not win the South's vote, but the North had a larger population.In search of CompromiseThe Republicans pledged to not stop slavery where it already existed, but the South didn't trust their word.South Carolina voted to secede from the Union on December 20, 1860.Most of the Southern states started considering secession, but the members of Congress were trying to find ways to prevent it. Senator John Crittenden proposed an amendment to the Constitution that would protect slavery in the South. The Republicans obviously rejected, along with the Southern leaders.One Southern leader said, "We spit upon every plan to compromise." While another said "No human power can save the Union."The Confederacy EstablishedFlorida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, and South Carolina had seceded by February of 1861.The delegates from each of these states joined up to make a new nation called the Confederate States of America. Jefferson Davis was their President.The Southerners said it was their "states' right" to secede.They said the Constitution was a contract among the independent states, and they believed that the federal government broke the contract by not enforcing the Fugitive Slave Act.Not all white southerns wanted secession especially, Robert E LeeLee said'' I only see that a fearful calamity is upon us''Some Northerners approved of secession in south, they were saying let them destroy there self Image by goodtextures: http://fav.me/d2he3r8Public reacts to SecessionLincoln takes office Before Lincolns inauguration many people were wondering what Lincoln was going to do.They also wondered what the 8 slaves states still remaining in the union were going to do when Lincoln took office.In the inauguration licoln states he cannot let secession happen any longer .Fighting at Fort SumterThe day After Lincoln took office, he received a message saying fort Sumter needed more supplies and the Confederates demanded them to surrender.Lincoln responded saying he sent a group of unarmed men with supplies.Before the men could get to the fort with supplies, Jefferson Davis order his forces to attack on April 12 1861, at 4:30 A.M Fun FactsDuring the civil war 2% of the population died.Chance of a solider surviving the civil war was 1 to 4.Virginia experienced the most fighting during the Civil War—more than 2,100 events occurred there.The Last Southern troops surrendered on May 26, 1865Nearly 3,000 people died in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. About the same number of men died in the first 15 minutes at Grant’s assault at Cold Harbor on June 3, 1864